A student carer is a student of any age who provides unpaid support to someone who could not manage without this help. This could be caring for a relative, partner, or friend who is ill, frail, disabled, or has mental health or substance misuse problems.

There is no such thing as a ‘typical’ student carer. Each student carers’ situation will differ based on the needs of the person they care for, where they are living, their subject of study, whether they are in paid employment, and a myriad of other factors.

If this describes your own position, or maybe someone you know, we hope you will find this information helpful.

Support

There are a number of local and national organisations specialising in support for carers.

Derbyshire Carers Association was established in 1988 and supports carers who look after a friend or family member who, due to illness, disability, mental health problems or an addiction cannot cope without their help and support. Many people who are supporting someone do not see themselves as a ‘carer’ but as relatives or friends. Caring for others can be complex and demanding, physically taxing and mentally draining.

Carers often become so focused on the person they care for that they forget to look after themselves. To keep going it is essential that carers look after their own health and wellbeing and that’s when Derbyshire Carers Association can help.

Carers Support Plan

Our Carers Support Plan is a document that outlines the reasonable adjustments the University can make for you whilst you study with us at Derby. To enable us to decide if you are eligible for a Carers Support Plan we require information about how caring affects your life in relation to carrying on doing the things that are important to you and your family; your caring role, your feelings about caring, your physical, mental and emotional health, and how caring affects your studies, work, leisure, education, wider family and relationships.

This additional information will enable us to consider the impact the care and support you provide is having on your own wellbeing, as well as important aspects of the rest of your life, including the things you want to achieve day-to-day and whether you are eligible for a Carers Support Plan.

Further information

As a carer, it is important that you make time for yourself. This does not mean that you abandon the person you care for. Having some time off from caring can help your own well-being and that is good for both yourself and the person you look after. It may also be important in allowing you to focus on your studies.

Further information on getting help to have some time out from your caring responsibilities is available on the Gov.uk website.

You may also want to consider some of the advice on this site on how to look after your wellbeing, to give you the best chance of both completing your course and meeting your caring responsibilities.

This section gives information about some of the funding options available to full time students with caring responsibilities. This is not an exhaustive list and most are allocated dependant on personal circumstances.

Carer's Allowance

Carer's Allowance is a taxable benefit to help people who look after someone who are disabled. You do not have to be related to, or live with, the person that you care for. Find out more about Carer's Allowance.